All is forgiven—God alone decides,

So by His will, you have forsaken me;

Now grief alone must chase a swallowed pride—

Bile’s bitterness, the lingering taste to be.

We are straw dogs, though passions still contend

Through buried ire as fate is coldly cast;

Celestial whims with wanton, ruthless ends

Enshroud all humble hopes, as dreams long passed.

Shattered stalks lie broken on the ground

Beneath the shadow of unquestioned might;

Frayed worthless husks that love once tightly bound

Now fate-blown chaff, forever lost to sight.

Wind-scattered grasses ‘neath dark clouds belie

That noble strife to seek a bluer sky.